Articles | Volume 19, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3337-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3337-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 15 Jul 2022
| 15 Jul 2022
Modelling the effects of benthic fauna on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Nest Institute, Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University,
Stockholm, 10691, Sweden
Oleg Pavlovitch Savchuk
Baltic Nest Institute, Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University,
Stockholm, 10691, Sweden
Bo Gustav Gustafsson
Baltic Nest Institute, Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University,
Stockholm, 10691, Sweden
Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hanko,
10900, Finland
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Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Empirical information on the nutrient cycles in the second largest European Lake Onego is almost lacking. We covered the deficit by realistic simulation of the lake’s ecosystem dynamics during 1985–2015 with the 3D ecohydrodynamic model. Important results include: a) 3D dynamics of major nutrient variables and fluxes; b) quantification of the spring phytoplankton bloom, previously overlooked; c) coherent nutrient budgets. The model is a useful tool for forecasting with different scenarios.
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Short summary
We studied the effects of benthic fauna, animals living on or in the seafloor, on the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus using a model of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. By eating and excreting, the animals transform a large part of organic matter sinking to the seafloor into inorganic forms, which fuel plankton blooms. Simultaneously, when they move around (bioturbate), phosphorus is bound in the sediments. This reduces nitrogen-fixing plankton blooms and oxygen depletion.
We studied the effects of benthic fauna, animals living on or in the seafloor, on the...
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